Pampered cattle that enjoy pedicures, massages, cool baths

Cattle rearing now has a trendy twist. It is no longer a smelly cow shed affair, but a well planned pampering and mood boosting lifestyle. Farmers have realised other than having a superior breed — if they want livestock to produce optimally- they need to go an extra mile.

Enter the era of pampered cattle — heifers and bulls — that enjoy Tender Loving Care (TLC) from pedicures to cool baths, to enjoying music and watching TVs, napping on a comfortable and clean mattress to living in air conditioned cow sheds.

A livestock farmer who gives his cow the bare minimum treatment – plain old grass and traditional cowshed – might wonder, why all that trouble?

Evidence shows that a happy cow equals a healthy cow which translates to more than double the milk output for dairy cows and super tender meat for beef cattle.

And the milk produced by a happy cow is not only plentiful but also richer and creamier.

Smart Harvest caught up with farmers and key people in the value chain who attest to this fact.

“I have been in this business long enough to know that pampered cows produce not only more milk but quality milk that produces the yummiest ice cream and tastiest yoghurt,” Mike Musyoka who runs a Ice Cream Parlour in Westlands says.

And there’s more, he says.

“Ask any veteran butcher and they will tell you that beef that is tough and tasteless is most likely from a stressed cow.”

Of course, the breed’s naturally pleasant disposition also determines this, he points out.

Alex Ndung’u a dairy farmer in Kabete is one of the farmers who are going that extra mile.

Mood boosters

When the team visits Ndung’u at his father’s quatre acre farm, we find the more than 20 Holstein-Friesian cows listening to soothing classical music. On close observation, the animals look like they are having a blast, and they are lost in their own world.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Ndung’u and the five farm hands are setting up equipment for milking.

“Before I discovered that music soothes them, milking time was a warlike affair. The animal could kick the worker because he has to secure it with ropes. We realised when the cow was stressed like that the milk output was distressingly low. Now I know that things like music calms the animal during milking. Since we discovered that, nowadays we do not need to fasten the animal with ropes during milking, we just play their favourite ballad and that’s it,” Ndung’u, who is also a student at Strathmore University says.

And the results are evident, the young farmer says.

“We can get as much as 30 litres of milk per cow. Previously we did 10 litres. To achieve that maximum yield, we play them music; give them an occasional pedicure and a nice bath every day. This keeps them relaxed which trickles down to more milk,” says Ndung’u.

Mr Simeon Songok the farm manager at Sigma Feeds, an expansive livestock farm in Ongata Rongai, says they have also seen ‘the light’.

“We treat our cows well. We play them soothing music during milking which boosts their moods. Every day we also give them a shower 30 minutes before milking which makes them feel comfortable. Our place is very hot and doing that calms them. They also sleep on special mattresses and the cow shed is clean and air rated. Of course it costs more having all these luxuries, but it is a worthy investment,” he says.

Overall impact of this royal treatment?

“The milk yield is significantly more when the cows are calm and happy. Happy cows drip with milk,” Mr Songok says.

At the ultra-modern dairy farm in Ruiru christened Tassels Dairy Farm, they have gone a notch higher in their game.

The farm supervisor Peterson Njoroge says the animals are also given special care.

“Our cows watch TV, they listen to music and we give them a nice scrub every day. And the place they sleep in is clean and covered in plastic mattress which is warm and comfortable,” says Njoroge.

Grooming

Mr Njoroge goes to explain that Tassels Farm is embracing the Denmark and Israel blend of modern farming, which is highly automated and advanced and hygiene and comfort of the cows is a top priority.

“To minimise contamination on our farms, we are in the process of automating everything. Robots will be doing most of the milking parlour processes. The project which has cost us Sh300 million will be completed by June this year,” Njoroge shares.

Experts concur with these farmer testimonies’ that indeed, happy cows produce better yield (milk and meat) compared to stressed animals.

A veterinary doctor Dr Ambrose Kipyegon of University of Nairobi says giving the cow all these special treatment impacts on the overall production.

“By giving the animals this tender care, it leads to the production of feel good hormones which in turns leads to more production of milk,” says Kipyegon.

He adds that a cow that is not at peak health and is stressed will not produce as much milk as a comfortable relaxed cow.

And what’s the scientific explanation behind this special treatment?

Dr Joseph Othieno a veterinary doctor who works for Kenya tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (KENTTEC) explain the science deeper: “Scientific evidence shows that milk production is controlled by hormones –oxytocin and adrenalin.These two hormones work antagonistically for more milk production. Oxytocin production has to be higher and adrenalin lower for higher milk production. When the cow is relaxed it produces more oxytocin which leads to milk letdown,” Othieno explains.

But when the animal is stressed the vet says it produces more adrenalin (fight- flight) which impedes the milk production. So niceties like the music, the TV, the grooming and the mattresses all help to calm the animal triggering feel good hormones.

Research

Research has also proven that pampered cows are healthier and more productive.

A study by Cornell University shows that dairy cows using the DeLaval Swinging Cow Brush (a modern cow wash machine) register higher milk production and lower clinical mastitis cases.

The study compared different groups of cows housed in pens using the grooming device to the similar reference groups kept in identical pens under the exact same conditions but without the cow wash.

The research team concluded that second lactation cows using the cow wash showed a significant and increasing difference in daily milk production of up to +1kg per day.

It was concluded that cows using the cow wash machine were 34 per cent less likely to suffer from clinical mastitis, a painful condition which can reduce milk yields.

Though pampering of animals is still a new phenomenon in most farms in Africa, Kenya included, in the West, it is the order of the day.

Farmers in well developed countries like Israel, Norway, Denmark and Australia have taken pampering a notch higher having discovered that it leads to higher yields.